Everyone has his/her own specific physical, emotional, social and mental needs. Consider your senior family members then you have to add to this list of needs, extra care and probably even medical attention. While some family members choose to be their own senior or sick loved one’s caregivers, they are prevented from providing full time care due to work, which will enable them to earn and pay their too many bills. Sending their loved one to a nursing home facility also may not be possible due either to the costly monthly fees or because they have not actually prepared for it, thus, the absence of a long-term care insurance or the failure to qualify to Medicare or Medicaid.

There is another way to provide your senior or sick loved one all the care and attention that he/she needs, though; one that does not require family members to quit from their job: by sending him/her to a facility or center where adult day care programs are observed.

Adult Daycare is a program that does the following:

Promote seniors’ well-being through well planned and designed health-related and social services

Give caregivers the rest or break they need to allow them to attend to their personal needs, rest or relax

Provide relief for family members who cannot stay with their loved ones during the day

With the intent to improve every participant’s quality of life, the program provides a community-centric atmosphere, where physical and mental activities, and the development or recognition of skills, are emphasized. These activities include games, exercises, group discussions, dancing, gardening, educational classes, painting, puzzle solving, and many others.

To provide quality care, Adult Daycare centers have staff members, registered nurses, dietitians, trained program directors, and community volunteers who are all trained to provide attention, medical support and companionship, besides creating programs that ensure fun, enhance cognitive skills, improve memory, and strengthen muscle functions – all for the enrichment of the mind and the body. Other services are directed to the participants’ personal needs, thus, these include grooming assistance, speech or physical therapy needs, medication management, and others. Availing of additional services, however, requires paying additional fees.

As mentioned at SeniorAdvice.com, the daily state median of Adult Daycare centers range from $25 to $135 (depending on the state). Besides the extra fees due to the additional services mentioned above, there are also extra fees for additional medical care, meals and snacks, and transportation to and from the daycare center.

Seniors with a lower income may enjoy the benefit of paying less for adult daycare (this is usually offered in non-profit daycare centers). Additional help may also be availed by using public benefits, such as Medicaid (but which requires meeting certain criteria for one to qualify), and benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Other than these, families and the senior concerned will have to use their own savings or employ private means, such as using social security or retirement benefits.